Thematic Einstein Semester on

Mathematics of Imaging in Real-World Challenges

Berlin, Winter Semester 2021/22

Organizers

Hans-Christian Hege (ZIB)
Michael Hintermüller (HU Berlin, WIAS)
Tobias Schäffter (TU Berlin, PTB)
Gabriele Steidl (TU Berlin)

Young Academy committee

Felix Ambellan (ZIB)
Robert Beinert (TU Berlin)
Christoph Kolbitsch (PTB)
Kostas Papafitsoros (WIAS)
Christoph von Tycowicz (FU Berlin, ZIB)

Note regarding the COVID-19 pandemic

At the moment we are optimistic that we will be able to organize the events of the semester in-person or in a hybrid in-person/online manner. In the unfortunate case that this will not be possible we will switch to a pure online format.

The semester is organized within the framework of the Berlin Mathematics Research Center Math+ and supported by the Einstein Foundation Berlin.

We are committed to fostering an atmosphere of respect, collegiality, and sensitivity. Please read our MATH+ Collegiality Statement.

Scope of the Semester

Mathematical image and data processing is a rapidly developing scientific field which involves an extremely rich spectrum of mathematical areas including inverse problems, mathematical optimization, harmonic and functional analysis, stochastics, partial differential equations and calculus of variations, geometry, morphology and topology. At the same time it requires interdisciplinary collaboration with computer scientists dealing with computer graphics, data visualization, machine learning and human-computer interaction as well as with researchers who determine the application-specific focus.

This special semester aims to bring together leading experts in these fields with young researchers and students to exchange ideas and participate in cutting-edge research, create synergies, enhance current trends and outline future directions.

A variety of activities are planned for the semester: A Kick-off Workshop on October 6-8, 2021, various targeted lectures and tutorials in Fall/Winter 2021/22, as well as events for students and young scientists organized by the Young Academy committee.

The Thematic Einstein Semester will conclude with the SIAM Conference on Imaging Science 2022, which will  take place online from March 21st to 25th, 2022, originally to be held at TU Berlin

Timeline

Kick-off Workshop

The Kick-off Workshop of the Thematic Einstein Semester on Mathematics of Imaging in Real-World Challenges will take place in PTB on 6-8 October 2021. This event will bring together practitioners, biomedical engineers, computer vision and machine learning experts as well as applied mathematicians in order to exchange on the current developments in applications and theory of imaging science. This meeting will be designed to foster interdisciplinary collaborative teams in order to identify and address the most pressing issues in the field.

Apart from the invited talks, the Kick-off workshop will include a special section on Public Software and Rewarding in Science, a podium discussion on Career Pathways as well as a poster session for students and young researchers.

Tandem talks

Harvard Business Review declared: “Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century.” In each tandem talk two experts, typically from mathematics and computer science or engineering talk about new challenging research in their field. The focus lies on both mathematical foundation and real-world applications.

Registration is not required for the tandem talks. Everyone is welcome to attend using the zoom links provided in the table below. The zoom links are going to be announced a few days before each tandem talk.

Tandem tutorials

“Mathematics of Imaging” covers a wide range of research areas. In each tutorial, two experts from Berlin will introduce an application of mathematics in imaging both from theory and practice. In addition, the tutorials will include a hands-on part where participants will be able to try out some of the discussed concepts themselves. The speakers will provide example code using e.g. Jupyter notebooks which will be made available shortly before the tutorials. During the tutorials, participants will go through these examples in small groups. The tandem tutorials are related to the Hackathon in March 2022.

The tutorials are going to take place online at 14:00-16:00 during the respective dates. Please register following the links below. The registrations will close one week before each tutorial.

Hackathon: “Maths Meets Image”

Mathematics is an integral part of imaging,  ranging from image reconstruction,  classification and segmentation to image interpretation. Often there is a gap between mathematical models and real-world data which hinders wide-spread application of exciting new research. In this 3-day-event we want to bridge this gap and bring together an interdisciplinary group of experts so that they can learn about imaging,  gain first practical experience and address exciting new research questions. “Maths Meets Image” will take place from the 17th to the 19th of March, 2022 at the typical Berlin venue The Classroom.  Participants should bring a laptop and lots of motivation, everything else will be provided by us.  More details on the schedule will follow soon.